Writer: Christina Lewis
Editor: Lillian Castro
Reviewer: Christina Lewis
For decades, web development had clear areas of coding: frontend and backend. The advent of single-page applications (SPAs) blurred the lines as you could suddenly load an entire application in the user’s browser and have the backend handled by a server-side framework like Node.js. Then, Next.js took everything a step further.
It sort of meshed the two sides together by creating React apps with full server-side rendering while also creating slick user interfaces without the worries of usual frontend concerns like routing and state management, to name a few.
This versatility in the creation of universal JavaScript applications is a main reason why Next.js is so beloved in the developer community. As such, it demands an equally great platform to host it because not just any platform will do. In the next few minutes, we’ll dissect the five best Next.js hosting options guaranteed to run your creation in all its glory.
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1. Hostinger: Best Shared Host
With almost two decades of operation under its belt, Hostinger has established itself as a hosting company that routinely delivers fast and stable service with attractive prices. In our eyes, it is the best Next.js hosting because its shared hosting offers feature-packed plans that provide great price-to-performance value for React apps.
Premium users get unlimited bandwidth, 100 GB of SSD storage, a free domain, and unlimited free SSL to boot. The Business plan doubles the storage amount and processing power and throws in daily backups and deluxe support for good measure — all with a lower price tag than most of its competitors.
Hostinger.com
Monthly Starting Price $2.69
- Unlimited everything, from storage to databases
- FREE site builder & WP performance upgrades
- FREE daily or weekly backups
- Custom control panel and auto-installation scripts
- SSH access & unlimited FREE SSL certificates
- Get started on Hostinger now.
As the shared hosting market becomes increasingly saturated, unlimited storage, bandwidth, and email accounts have become surprisingly average. Hostinger, however, extends the routine, expected metrics to greater lengths — the number of websites, databases, FTP users, subdomains, and parked domains are all unrestricted for most customers. Go to full review »
| Money Back Guarantee | Disk Space | Domain Name | Setup Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30 days | 100 GB SSD – 200 GB NVMe | FREE (1 year) | 3 minutes |
Hostinger has detailed instructions for setting up Next.js and taking advantage of API routes, serverless functions, and others, so be sure to give those a look.
See our full review of Hostinger >>
2. A2 Hosting: Best VPS
Speed is the name of the game here, as A2 Hosting’s calling card is blazing-fast hosting. Of particular interest are the VPS hosting options with different management levels and features so there’s something for everyone.
Unmanaged plans (you run the server, for the most part) have a low starting price and come with custom speed-boosting technologies promising 20 times faster page loading speeds than competitors. Naturally, managed plans cost more, but you get more bang for your buck, including cPanel server management, free SSL, beefed-up security, and more.
A2Hosting.com
Monthly Starting Price $2.99
- Turbo server & cache options for faster page loads
- Well-built plans starting with 4GB RAM
- FREE CDN plus auto-installs with Softaculous
- Multilingual support and up to unlimited databases
- Enhanced security with and daily kernel updates
- Get started on A2 Hosting now.
While A2 Hosting’s turbocharged shared hosting platform gives site owners ample room to grow, the company’s tech prowess is on full display with its portfolio of VPS options. Ranging from unmanaged, bare-metal environments to stress-free, fully managed space, A2 Hosting is sure to have the perfect option for your expanding online presence. Go to full review »
| Setup Time | Disk Space | CPU | RAM |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7 minutes | 20 GB SSD – 450 GB SSD | 1 – 10 cores | 1 GB – 32 GB |
Add in the dev-friendly and scalable nature of A2 Hosting, and you get a service suitable for almost everyone, arguably more so for experienced users who have the skills to leverage all the advanced bells and whistles.
See our full review of A2 Hosting >>
3. 1&1 IONOS: Best Dedicated Server
For those looking for a speedy and reliable hosting platform that won’t break the bank, 1&1 IONOS’ dedicated hosting will certainly do the trick — and then some. The company offers 100% dedicated hardware, 1 Gbit/s bandwidth as the standard, and cloud integration for those who seek more control.
You can choose between three SSD-based plans with malware scanning, DNS management, free custom domain, and unlimited traffic, among other things. If you want more storage at the expense of speed, you can choose from four HDD-based plans.
IONOS.com
Monthly Starting Price $32.00
- Explore server deals to find the best rates
- High powered modern AMD and Intel processors
- Unlimited traffic and 1 Gbit/s network connectivity
- 8-minute deployment with full API control
- Auto backups, DDoS protection, and RAID-1 storage
- Get started on 1&1 IONOS now.
If you need blazing-fast speed, optimum uptime, top-notch flexibility, and full control over the fate of your website the dedicated servers from 1&1 IONOS have you covered. The company offers an assortment of entry-level, performance-focused, and business-class server options. Go to full review »
| Setup Time | Disk Space | CPU | RAM |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7 minutes | 480 GB SSD – 2 TB HDD | 2 – 32 cores | 12 GB – 256 GB |
To use Next.js, you need Deploy Now, a hosting platform designed to deploy static sites and PHP apps directly via GitHub. The good news is that you can try it out for free for a month and see if the whole ordeal makes sense for you.
See our full review of IONOS >>
Other Next.js Hosting Platforms
Besides the aforementioned top three picks, I’d be remiss not to mention two great platforms that supply solutions to meet all the needs you may have.
4. Vercel
No list of best Next.js hosting is complete without Vercel, as it was built by the same people who created the framework in the first place. Due to its design, Vercel is a favored option of many Next.js developers as it offers seamless deployment, easy scalability, and automatic testing, among other features.
Among the notable features are Incremental Static Regeneration (ISR), which speeds up builds by allowing devs to update certain pages without rebuilding the entire site, and Edge Functions, which enables the delivery of dynamic, personalized content
5. Heroku
A cloud platform that focuses on all things developer experience, Heroku caters to those who want to deploy, manage, and scale a simple prototype or a business-critical product. Unlike cloud platforms specifically built for Next.js, it provides a buildpack to deploy your web app with the added option of automatic deployment once everything is settled in.
The highlight is the wide array of add-ons, like Heroku Postgres, or third-party add-ons, 7,800+ open-source buildpacks, and 7,200+ ready-to-deploy Heroku Buttons that make it easy to enrich your app with pre-integrated extensions and services.
Those would be our five choices for best Next.js hosting. Different projects have different needs, so whatever platform you end up going for (whether it’s these five or some other), make sure to do your research and select the one that suits you the most.
What Is Next.js?
Next.js is a versatile framework for React, a JavaScript library for building interactive user interfaces that provides the required elements to create various web applications. More precisely, Next.js takes care of the tooling and configuration, all while providing additional structure, features, and optimizations for your application.
Where Can I Host Next.js for Free?
There are a couple of options we suggest you take a look at:
6. Netlify
If you’re just dipping your toes in the digital ocean of hosting, Netlify’s free plan is an excellent way to kick things off. You will be charged if you go over the allocated bandwidth (100GB per month), build minutes (300 minutes per month), and so on. There is an optional monthly fee for site analytics, and the company also offers 30-day trials for its Pro and Enterprise plans, so you can give it a test drive before you commit to anything.
7. AWS Amplify
For Amazon Web Services fans, this will be a no-brainer thanks to the cross-platform possibility. AWS advertises Amplify tools on a per-usage principle, meaning you can use them as much or as little as you need. You can host an app for free for the first year, then pay for more data transfer, storage, and other features as you scale. A big plus is the detailed documentation for Next.js, which should make the experience smoother.
Which Features Make a Good Next.js Hosting Provider?
A good Next.js hosting provider should provide:
- Server-side rendering (SSR) support to ensure your application runs without a hiccup
- Node.js support and the necessary runtime environment to run Next.js applications
- Scalability options to handle increased traffic (load balancing, CDN integration, auto-scaling capabilities, etc.)
- Fast performance
- Deployment automation through Git, CI/CD pipelines, or integration with popular version control systems
- Security features such as regular updates, SSL certificates, and DDoS protection
In addition to these basics, your host should also offer developer-friendly tools so you can improve the experience any way you want.
Good Next.js Hosting Starts with Due Diligence and Research
Choosing a hosting provider is never an easy task if only for the fact that there are so many options to choose from. The process gains another layer of complexity when you have to factor in a specific web development framework like Next.js.
The thing is, you can’t just go for any hosting (e.g., a CDN that serves static files) as you’ll likely be missing out on all that makes Next.js great: high-level flexibility, various functionalities, support for numerous data-fetching methods, and the list goes on.
So take your time, carefully evaluate what’s offered, and always keep in mind the three S’s of best Next.js hosting — speed, scale, and security — to make the best choice.
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